Mop.



PATENTED SEPT. 1, 1903..

W. G. BROWNE.

MOP.

APPLIOATION FILED DBO. a. 1902.

N0 MODEL.

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PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM G. BROWNE, OF KINGsToN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR To THE W. G. BROWNEMANUFAGTURING COMPANY, or KINGSTON, NEW YORK, A

CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

MOP.

ePEo'IF'IcATIoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 737,572, datedSeptember '1, 1909'. Application filed December 3,1902. Serial No.133,730. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM G. BROWNE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kingston, in the county of Ulster and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mops, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings,which form a part thereof.

My invention relates to mops, and more particularly to a class thereofemploying a removable swab.

The object of the invention is to provide a mop of this type wherein theswab will be firmly secured to the head in a manner to envelop allexposed portions thereof, as well as the securing means, and thusprevent injury to the floor, surbase, or side walls through said partscontacting therewith.

A further object is to provide simple and convenient means for sosecuring said swab to the headof the handle and for releasing saidsecuring means in such manner as to permit a convenient and expeditiousattachment or removal of the said swab; and a still further object is toprovide a mop which will be simple in construction,composed of fewparts, and operated in what may be termed a single motion.

The invention consists in providing a mop comprising a handle, a headtherefor adapted to be enveloped by the swab, reciprocating jawsdisposed on opposite sides of said handle, said jaws being adapted toengage a swab and draw it about and secure it to said head, and meansfor reciprocating said jaws, and in such other novel features ofconstruction and arrangement of parts as are hereinafter set forth anddescribed, and more particularly pointed out in the claims heretoappended.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the mop,showing the jaws in engagement with the head (the swab not beingincluded) and indicating in dotted lines the operation of thereciprocating mechanism and the position of the said jaws when the swabis to be attached or removed. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of thestructure shown in full lines in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a view of thehead and lower end or loop of the jaws, as

shown in Fig. 2, showing the swab in place, said swab being broken awayon one side to more fully disclose the complete envelopment of the headand the retaining-jaws.

Like letters refer to like parts'throughout the several views.

In each of the views one end only of the handle is shown, such alonebeing necessary to illustrate the invention.

In the application of my invention, as shown in the accompanyingdrawings, I employ a handle a, of wood or other desired material, andsecurely attach thereto a cross-head Z), the lower face of which ispreferably rounded to avoid sharp edges, and the ends of which areoverhung to provide guide-surfaces, as Z) Z). Mounted upon the handle ais a sliding collar 0, which carries the clamping-jaws d d, disposed onopposite sides of said handle. Said collar is adapted to be moved1ongitudinally of said handle and reciprocate said jaws d, so as toalternately project them beyond said head I), as indicated in dottedlines, Fig. 1, and to withdraw them in a mannor to engage the swab, drawit about, and secure it to said head I), as illustrated in Fig. 3. Thesejaws d are preferably made of continuous spring-metal rods bent to shapeand adapted to be normally separated in a manner to release the clampingaction on the swab and give sufficient clearance of the head bin passingsame. The ends of said jaws adjacent to said head are formed into aloop, having extended sides 01 d and a top d connecting said sides,which is preferably so arched as to engage the sides of the swab first,and thus draw the same somewhat away from the center, and thus insure amorecomplete envelopment of the entire head. The sides 01 of the jaws dare adapted to engage the guide-surfaces b, respectively, and aredistant from each other less than the width of the head I), thusinsuring against the contact thereof with the surbase or walls abovenying drawings, the securing means comprises a recess between flanges cc on opposite sides of the said collar, said recess being 1 openexteriorly. The said flanges are drilled to permit the passage of theends of the said shanks therethrough, and forward of said drill-holes Iprovide projections, as o 0 about which said ends are secured bybending. This construction insures a permanent joinder and one that willnot be liable to work loose through the repeated strains thereon.

On opposite sides of the handle a are bridges e e, secured theretopreferably by a rivet passing through both bridges and the handle. Theshanks d d of the clampingjaws are confined and guided by these bridges,and to supplement the action thereof upon the jaws d d and provide apositive means for clamping the swab against the head 5 I' provideinclined surfaces d d thereon adjacent to each bridge. The engagement ofsaid inclined surfaces d d with said bridges e 6 causes a positivepressure through the tops 61 against the portion of the swab betweenthem and the head b. Other equivalent means may be employed for openingand closing these jaws d; but that heretofore described has been foundto be extremely simple in construction and efficient in operation. Thecollar 0 and the clam ping-jaws d dare reciprocated by means of aleverf, fulcrumed to the handle a, and pitmen g g, pivoted,respectively, to opposite sides of said lever and said collar. To insureagainst the accidental action of said lever, said pitmen are preferablypivoted thereto at a point slightly beyond the dead-center, thuselfect-ually looking the lever when in the closed position.

The swab, and in this connection this word is employed to designate, theabsorbent material carried by the mop and not the entire structure, isindicated by the letter h and is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings only.

Assuming the various parts to be in the relation shown in full lines,Fig. l and Fig. 2, and it be desired to attach a swab thereto, theleverfis swung upon its pivot away from the handle a. This movement,through the pitmen g g, forces the collar 0 and the jaws d 01 carriedthereby longitudinally of the handle in a direction toward the head b,the various parts assuming the position indicated in dotted lines,Fig. 1. As the inclined surfaces d d on the shanks d d of said jaws-passfrom the control of the bridges e e the jaws are permitted to open to aslight extent through their own spring tension. When a swab is alreadyattached to the mop, this action serves to release the pressure thereon,and thus permit a proper clearance of the head 1) during the forwardmovement of said jaws. The jaws d cl are simultaneously projected bythis movement to a point beyond the head 1) sufficient to permit thepassage of the swab freely through the loop in said jaws between the topd thereof and said head. The swab h is then passed through the loop ofeach jaw, the opposite ends thereof being permitted to hang downwardoutside of each jaw. Thereafter the leverfis swung back to its formerposition, reversing the action heretofore described and restoring theparts to their former position. As the jaws d are withdrawn from beyondthe head I) the swab, being within the loop of each jaw, is engagedthereby and drawn back with said jaws about the head 12,. upon which itis clamped by said jaws. The sides of the arched top at of each jaw whensuch construction is used cuts the plane of the lower face of thehead 1) before the central portion thereof, thus tending to draw theslack in the swab away from the center and about the ends of said head.The portion of the swab between the tops (1 is thus forced to closelyenvelop the entire exposed portion of the head I) and the ends thereofthe outside of the tops (1 of each jaw. These tops 61 are drawn abovethe lower surface of the head b to a slight extent, so that no metallicor abrasive portion of the mop is in a position to contact with thefloor through the separation of the ends of the swab while in use. Inthe use of the ordinary mop the ends of the swab must be interposedbetween the head and the floor, and if one end is pushed before and theother dragged after the head, which is commonly the case, the headcontacts directly with the floor. In another com mon type of mop theswab is clamped between two jaws, which constitute the head, thusavoiding the exposure of the lower side thereof, but occasioning asimilar effect from the clamping-jaws themselves. In the structureherein described a covered head prevents the former condition, and theclamping-jaws are so positioned as to render the latter impossible. Asthe shanks d d pass through the bridges e e the inclined'surfaces d dthereon engage said bridges and positively compress the said j aws,clamping them against the portion of the swab between them and the head I).'It will be readily observed that the bridges e e serve also to confineand guide theshan ks d (1 during the entire reciprocation of said jaws.The guide-surfaces b I) serve through the contact therewith of the sidesd cl to prevent torsional movement of the entire jaws d d. These ends ofthe head 1) project beyond said sides d d and being protected by thesides of the swab will contact with surbases or side Walls and preventthe jaws d d from coming into injurious contact therewith. t

It is not my intention to limit the invention to the preciseconstruction herein shown and described. The precise means forreciprocating the collar 0 and arms (Z d is immaterial, and variousexpedients may be employed to open and close said jaws either duringthe'reciprocation thereof or immediately preceding or succeeding suchmovement.

Many minor variations in construction may be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope of my invention.

ICC

Having described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to haveprotected by Letters Patent, is

1. In a mop, the combination with a handle and a head therefor of jawsdisposed on opposite sides of said handle and means whereby said jawsare reciprocated, said jaws being adapted to engage a swab and draw itabout and secure it to said head.

2. In a mop, the combination with a handle and a head therefor, of jawsdisposed on opposite sides of said handle and having a loop adjacent tosaid head, and means whereby said jaws are reciprocated, said loops being adapted to engage a swab and draw it about and secure it to saidhead.

3. In a mop, the combination with a handle and a head therefor, of jawsdisposed on opposite sides of said handle and having a loop adjacent tosaid head, means whereby said jaws are reciprocated, said loops beingadapted to engage a swab and draw it about and secure it to said head,and means whereby said jaws are opened and closed during suchreciprocation.

4. In a mop, the combination with a handle and a head therefor, of jawsdisposed on opposite sides of said handle comprising respectively ashank,and a loop adjacent to said head, means whereby said jaws arereciprocated, said loop being adapted to engage a. swab and draw itabout and secure it to said head and means whereby said jaws are openedand closed during such reciprocation comprising an inclined surface onsaid shanks respectively and a bridge secured to each side of the handleadapted to confine and guide said shanks respectively.

5. In a mop, the combination with a handle and a head therefor havingguide-surfaces thereon, of jaws disposed on opposite sides of saidhandle comprising respectively a loop adjacent to said head, extendedsides adapted to engage said guide-surfaces and a shank, and meanswhereby said jaws are reciprocated, said loops being adapted to engage aswab and draw it about and secure it to said head.

6. In a mop, the combination with a handleand a head therefor, of jawsdisposed on opposite sides of said handle comprising respectively ashank and a loop adjacent to said head, the top of said loop beingarched, means in conjunction with said shank whereby said jaws arereciprocated, said loops being adapted to engage a swab and draw itabout and secure it to said head, and means whereby said jaws are openedand closed during such reciprocation.

7. In a mop, the combination with a handle and a head therefor, of asliding collar mounted on said handle, jaws carried thereby and disposedon opposite sides of said handle comprising respectively a shank and aloop adjacent to said head, means whereby said collar is reciprocated,said loops being adapted to engage a swab and draw it about and secureit to said head and means whereby said jaws are opened and closed duringsuch reciprocation comprising an inclined surface on said shanksrespectively and a bridge secured to each side of the handle adapted toconfine and guide said shanks respectively.

In witness whereof I have hereunto afiixed my signature, this 29th dayof November, 1902, in the presence of two witnesses.

WVILLIAM G. BROWN E.

Witnesses:

GRACE NEWKIRK, CHARLES W. WALTON.

